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Saudi Arabia is set to convert an oil rig into a 150,000-square-meter amusement park

2021-10-25T16:50:00-04:00

Saudi Arabia may be trying to reduce its dependency on oil, but that hasn't stopped the Arabic kingdom from using its petroleum industry as inspiration for a brand new tourist attraction. The Middle Eastern country has announced plans to convert an oil rig into a 150,000 square meter "extreme park" and resort located in the Arabian Gulf.

Called The Rig, the project is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The resort takes the shape of an offshore oil platform, the world’s first according to the PIF, and comprises three hotels, 11 restaurants, helipads, and an assortment of amusement activities, such as roller coaster rides, bungee jumping, and diving.

In a statement, the PIF says this attraction is intended to draw tourists from around the world. It is part of PIF’s strategy to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s tourism and entertainment sector, which falls under the long-term Saudi Vision 2030, an initiative that aims to provide development opportunities in order to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil and to diversify the economy.

#PIF announces “THE RIG.” Project.
The world’s first tourism destination inspired by offshore oil platforms.

Read more: https://t.co/s3TLJ8mbVh #THERIGsa pic.twitter.com/YlC2kZ2yll
— Public Investment Fund (@PIF_en) October 16, 2021

The PIF also says The Rig will ensure t...

Can the Gulf of Mexico be used to store carbon dioxide?

2019-06-11T11:41:00-04:00

research from American and European scientists suggests that Texas — especially the waters along its coast — could be a pretty good place to store carbon from the petroleum industry.

In an effort to find new methods for storing carbon dioxide emissions, European researchers have been experimenting with injecting liquefied CO2 into the seabed surrounding former drilling sites in the North Sea. Studies so far show that leakages are minor and carbon sequestration potential is high using this approach.

“This is not a solution for climate change, but a mitigation process until we change the way we live,” Doug Connelly, a marine geologist and coordinator of the STEMM-CCS experiment, told Grist.

Even so, lawmakers in Texas, the oil-loving state that produces the nation's highest carbon emissions, are intrigued. The idea is receiving extra attention as a bipartisan carbon capture and sequestration bill gains traction in the United States Senate.

Tip Meckel, economic geologist at the University of Texas at Austin, is supportive of the the idea, he explained to Grist, “When we think of offshore carbon storage in the Gulf of Mexico, we could inject enough to significantly ...

Possible Thesis Sites #1: Stalin's Atlantis

2012-11-14T14:29:00-05:00

In the 1950s, Soviet engineers built a massive city in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan. It was a network of oil platforms linked by hundreds of kilometers of roads and housing 5,000 workers, with a cinema, a park and apartment blocks. Gradually disintegrating but still closely guarded, this astonishing place inspired a fiery scene in a James Bond movie.

It might be few weeks late but I thought this would make a great site for those who are still struggling to come up with a spiffy idea for a thesis project in architecture schools. For those who wanna, tell them Orhan sent you.